Christian Living on Stuck

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The Mule in the Well

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 40:1-3, Isaiah 43:2, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, James 1:2-4, Romans 8:28

A Louisiana farmer’s favorite mule fell into a well. After studying the situation, the farmer came to the conclusion that he couldn’t pull the mule out, so he might as well bury him. It would be the h...

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No Further Instructions

Author

Charles Swindoll

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:12-13, James 1:19-20, Ephesians 4:31-32, Luke 6:27-28, 1 Peter 3:9

A successful Irish boxer was converted and became a preacher. He happened to be in a new town setting up his evangelistic tent when a couple of tough thugs noticed what he was doing. Knowing nothing o...

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Sticks & Stones in Your Bed

Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 12:6-7, James 1:2-4, Psalm 94:12-13, Proverbs 3:11-12, Romans 5:3-5

Years ago, I read an old fairy tale about a wicked witch who lived in a remote cottage in the deep forest. When travelers came through looking for lodging, she offered them a meal and a bed. It was th...

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The Inuit and the Wolf

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 10:13, James 4:7, Hebrews 2:18, Matthew 6:13, Galatians 5:16, James 1:13-15

In the vast, frozen wilderness of the Arctic, an Inuit hunter used a clever technique to trap a wolf. He took a sharp knife and carefully coated its blade with layers of animal blood, letting each lay...

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Gracious God, we desire to follow when

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 4:19, Luke 9:23, Isaiah 30:21, John 10:27, James 1:22, Romans 12:1-2, Ephesians 4:1, 2 Timothy 1:9

Gracious God, we desire to follow when you call. We long to live according to the ways of Jesus, yet we find ourselves stumbling. Forgive us for the times we have ignored your call to follow you in th...

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Struggling with Charity

Author

Kent Annan

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 13:16, Micah 6:8, Luke 6:38, Proverbs 19:17, James 1:27

On the fifteenth of each month, Alicia has thirty dollars withdrawn from her checking account to sponsor Belyse, a beautiful, brown-eyed girl from Kenya, who then gets school and a hot meal each day. ...

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Flying into a Headwind

Author

Cody Sandahl

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 46:1-2, 2 Timothy 4:7, Galatians 6:9, James 1:12, Proverbs 3:5-6, Philippians 3:13-14

I started flying small Cessna planes when I was in high school, and I vividly remember one flight between McGregor, TX and Austin. We had an incredibly strong tail wind down to Austin, so we got there...

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O Giver of every good and perfect gift,

Author

Chip Hardwick

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:17

O Giver of every good and perfect gift, we confess that we are poor stewards of your bounty. You give us time, but we waste it. You give us life, but we use it to glorify ourselves. You give us wealth...

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Author

Studdert Kennedy

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:2-4, 1 Corinthians 15:57, Psalm 46:1, Isaiah 40:29-31, Romans 8:37, Psalm 73:26

It is not finished, Lord, There is not one thing done, There is no battle of my life That I have really won. And now I come to tell thee How I fought to fail, My human, all too human, tale Of weakness...

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A Vice President’s Undoing by a 3-cent Butter Roll

Author

Andy Cook

Keywords

Scripture

James 1:22-25, 1 Samuel 16:7, Matthew 5:8, Genesis 39:9, Psalm 15:1-2

Dr. Bob Reccord tells the story of a major move that was set to take place inside the halls of a Fortune 500 company. It was unheard of, but the company was ready to promote a 38-year-old from vice pr...

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A Faulty Compass

Author

James K. A. Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 119:105, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 30:21, James 1:5, John 14:6

In 1914, not long after the sinking of the Titanic, Congress convened a hearing to discern what happened in another nautical tragedy. In January of that year, in thick fog off the Virginia Coast, the ...

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Who Didn't Make it Out?

Author

Jim Collins

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:3-5, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Proverbs 13:12, Numbers 14:, James 1:2-4, 2 Corinthians 11:23-28

Jim Collins, the author of Good to Great , interviewed Admiral Jim Stockdale, the highest-ranking officer in the Hanoi Hilton prisoner of war camp during the height of the Vietnam War. Regarding the ...

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Wrestling with the Devil or God?

Author

Ronald Rohlheiser

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 32:24-28, Genesis 32:30, Hosea 12:3-4, Hebrews 5:12-14, 1 Corinthians 3:1-2, Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4, Luke 9:23-24, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Maturation is a lifelong journey with different phases, human and spiritual. And it has many setbacks. What can be helpful is to have a grasp of the natural seasons of our lives and how these interfac...

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Being Careful Not to Commit

Author

C. S. Lewis

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 10:38, James 1:6-8, Matthew 6:24, Romans 7:19, 1 John 2:15-17, Psalm 139:23-24, Luke 9:62

I say my prayers, I read a book of devotion, I prepare for, or receive, the Sacrament. But while I do these things there is, so to speak, a voice inside me that urges caution. It tells me to be carefu...

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Author

Charles R. Swindoll

Keywords

Scripture

Habakkuk 3:17-18, Psalm 34:1, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, James 1:2-4, Colossians 3:2, Proverbs 17:22

We cannot change our past. We can not change the fact that people act in a certain way. We can not change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our at...

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Home: A Desire for Permanence

Author

Jen Pollock Michel

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 10:23, James 1:9-12, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Jeremiah 17:7-8, Colossians 2:6-7

Before Seattle resident Edith Macefield died at age eighty-six in 2008, she refused to sell her house to developers for the $1 million they had purportedly offered. Macefield wanted to die at home. Se...

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Gracious God, as we turn to your Word

Keywords

Scripture

2 Timothy 3:16-17, Acts 17:10-12, Acts 8:26-40, Romans 10:17, James 1:22, Hebrews 4:12

Gracious God, as we turn to your Word for us, may the Spirit of God rest upon us. Help us to be steadfast in our hearing, in our speaking, in our believing, and in our living. Amen.

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Prayer of Confession for Transfiguration Sunday

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-6, Micah 6:8, Matthew 6:33, James 1:5, Philippians 2:3-4

Save us, Glorious Christ, from every false understanding and motivation Save us from the temptation to just stay on the mountain Save us from the temptation to never engage Save us from the temptation...

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Rewiring Our House is Painful

Author

Ken Costa

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 1:6, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 12:2, Isaiah 40:31, 1 Peter 1:6-7, James 1:2-4

God stretches our faith in order to prepare us to receive his promises. That often requires painful rewiring. We need updating, just as an old house may need rewiring. The old electrical wires might b...

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Adapted from “Weaknesses” in The Valley of Vision

Author

Arthur Bennett

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 30:21, Philippians 4:6-7, James 1:5, Psalm 25:4-5, Romans 8:26, Psalm 51:10, 1 John 1:9

Pastor: O Spirit of God, help my infirmities. When I am pressed down because of my sin, perplexed and not knowing what to do, help me. All: When you see that I desire evil things, delighting in sinf...

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Dirty Boots

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 13:4, Ecclesiastes 9:10, Matthew 25:14-30, Philippians 3:13-14, James 1:22-25, 1 John 1:9, James 5:16

Pope John Paul I recounted a story about Jonathan Swift and his servant. One morning at an inn, Swift asked his servant why his boots hadn’t been cleaned. The servant replied, “I didn’t see the point,...

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Rolling the Stone Away

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 16:25, Luke 9:62, Philippians 3:7-8, Acts 20:13-36, Matthew 10:16-42, James 1:2-4, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

The renowned scholar and musician Albert Schweitzer’s life was turned upside down one summer morning in 1896 while reading his Bible. He came upon Matthew 16:25: “For whosoever will save his life shal...

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Author

Mark Buchanan

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 30:15-16, James 1:2-4, Romans 5:3-5, 1 Peter 4:12-13, Hebrews 12:1-2

A typical response to threat and burden is to want to flee it. It’s evacuation as the cure for trouble. If only I could get away is our mantra. Then I would be safe. Then I could enjoy my life. But wh...

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Weighing the Options

Author

Bits and Pieces

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 4:8, Romans 12:17-18, Ephesians 4:2, Matthew 7:3-4, James 1:19

Many years ago a senior executive of the then Standard Oil Company made a wrong decision that cost the company more than $2 million. John D. Rockefeller was then running the firm. On the day the news ...

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Generous Lord Jesus, We confess that we

Author

Jacob Traeger

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:32, Hebrews 11:1, Luke 6:38, James 1:18-20, Matthew 9:36

Generous Lord Jesus We confess that we do not receive others with compassion. We object to being interrupted And respond with anger or frustration. We confess that we do not share generously Not trus...

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Heavenly Father, our Savior told us,

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 16:25, Luke 17:33, Proverbs 3:5-6, Jeremiah 29:11, James 1:5

Heavenly Father, our Savior told us, "Those who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who lose their life for My sake will gain it." These are hard words. We confess that we oft...

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Dear Heavenly Father, We are grateful

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 9:24, James 1:5-6, Psalm 34:17, Philippians 4:6-7, Jeremiah 33:3, Matthew 21:22, 1 Peter 5:7

Dear Heavenly Father, We are grateful that we can come to You at any time, about anything. We know that You listen to the earnest cries of our hearts. We know that You have great power; You are the Cr...

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Electrical Fires and Addressing Sin at the Source

Author

David Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 7:20-23, Proverbs 4:23, James 1:14-15, Luke 6:43-45, Colossians 2:23

One afternoon, I was playing with my son in our living room when I suddenly smelled something burning. I stood up and walked around, nose high in the air, sniffing furiously. My wife smelled it too, s...

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Gracious God, you forgive us whenever

Author

Chip Hardwick

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 1:9, Romans 7:15-20, Galatians 5:16-17, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:8-9, James 1:22-25, Lamentations 3:22-23

Gracious God, you forgive us whenever we ask, and so we ask you now to forgive all of our sins. We need your grace again, for we often return to the same sins, over and over again. Your Spirit longs t...

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Not Interested in Being Meek

Author

Jerry Bridges

Keywords

Scripture

Titus 3:2, Colossians 3:12, 1 Peter 3:4, Matthew 11:29, James 1:21

A friend of mine who is an entrepreneur was listening to a CD of a series of messages I had given on the Beatitudes. When he came to meekness, he told me, he skipped over it. He wasn’t interested in b...

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